


Couldn't of Said it Better

by Lohare



Category: Anthem (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 07:02:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17997119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lohare/pseuds/Lohare
Summary: Freelancer Rane was known as being one hell of a shot when you needed her most, otherwise a bit quirky and far, far too laid back. The other freelancers and most of the sentinels would go as far to say lazy.But Sentinel Ellen knew better.





	Couldn't of Said it Better

Freelancer Rane was known as being one hell of a shot when you needed her most, otherwise a bit quirky and far, far too laid back. The other freelancers and most of the sentinels would go as far to say lazy.

But Sentinel Ellen knew better.

The past few years, among shaper storms, the heart of rage, every wild monster and creepy crawly that had spawned itself from the Anthem, Ellen had watched the Freelancer.

She’d eyed her on solo night flights, gliding through the upper reaches of the canopy with no real goal in mind. Her ranger javelin was a sight to behold, gleaming under the dim light of the stars as she passed Ellen by. It had been stripped of some of its heavier armor, built more around her long range fighting style. 

She knew Rane would disappear at nights, her cipher probably fast asleep somewhere while Rane idly watched the stars atop a mountain holding on to every last bit of freedom she could cling. 

Sentinel Ellen had originally believed what the others had told her, the stories of the lazy freelancer, until she’d been the one to send out a distress beacon when a group of scars ambushed their patrol. 

Rane had been nearby, dropping onto a nearby cliff-face as if it were the most natural thing in the world, placing shot after shot on mark. Many of the scars dropped like flies. Everything had been well until one huge bastard of an Escari showed up, sending two of her sentinels across the plaza. She knew they wouldn’t of survived.

Ellen barely had time to pull the trigger while the massive leg of the scar was hitting her side, burning pain coursing through her with an audible crack of bone. She landed hard near the edge of a waterfall, javelin barely holding together.   
She managed to lift her head, watching as Rane darted through the old ruins, somehow managing to land every shot from her marksman’s rifle on point. Ellen, slowly, managed to pull herself up, determined to show the freelancer that the sentinels were no pushover but froze as one of the Escari’s lauchers detonated too close to Rane.

The freelancer was sent through two pillars and came crashing down hard not too far from where Ellen had landed. In desperation, she scrambled to Rane and managed to land a few key shots on the Escari.  
She tried to drag Rane away, making it a few feet before a scar bullet hit the already damaged knee of her javelin and she dropped to the floor. Ellen cursed violently, turning Rane’s rifle of the Scar and burning three holes through its head.   
Her outburst had cost her too much time.

“Damn it all! We’re not dying today!” Ellen yelled, using the last of her crippled booster jets to throw them both off of the cliff moments before another one of the Escari’s attacks landed.   
They both hit the water below, Ellen’s suit quickly filling with water but Rane was still unresponsive. She cursed again, any radio chatter lost to the flooding water. Pushing hard against her suit she managed to grapple onto a ledge and drag them both free from the river, pulling Rane through a waterfall to a hidden outcropping.

She prayed the Escari hadn’t come after them.

Ellen turned her attention to Rane, using the last of her javelin’s strength to pull free her faceplate. Not a moment later Rane coughed up a mouthful of water and jerked upright, looking around wildly. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you move so fast.” Ellen joked, an attempt to calm her down which resulted in a blade that paused just before her exposed neck.

The look of panic on Rane’s features suddenly dropped into fear, followed by shame as the blade clanged against the stone. Her Javelin barely managed a whine as she scooted herself back.   
“Oh shit, oh shit, I’m sorry!” She wheezed, her breathing labored and erratic, her hands moving up to her faceplate in further panic.  
“Hey, it’s okay. We’re safe... for now at least.” Ellen whispered, taking a hold of Rane’s hand, metal clunking against metal.

She’d seen similar acting among many freelancers, the one’s who’d been too slow, who’d missed that all important shot, those whom had survived the heart of rage. She knew as much that Rane qualified.  
Rane looked at her, eyes wide and bloodshot. Ellen wasn’t quite sure if she was even in the present, or stuck inside some locked away memory. Slowly, her eyes calmed, shoulders dropping as Rane realized where she was.   
“What.... happened?” Rane asked a little dumbfounded, free hand coming up to clutch at her helmet. She’d probably hit her head quite hard. 

“Escari and its posy overran us; I managed to jet us off the cliff. I’m just hoping it hasn’t come looking for us.” Ellen explained, resting her back against the rocks. Her eyes looked over her torn, broken armor. She didn’t want to think about how much had short-circuited and how many bits of plating she’d lost. “I’ve sent out a distress beacon, with any luck some freelancers or sentinels will show up soon and finish that bastard off.” Ellen spat, her gaze instead turning to Rane, who was still holding onto her hand.  
Ellen wondered if that small connection was the only thing holding Rane together right now. “You know Rane... you were amazing out there.” Ellen changed the subject, an effort to pull Rane’s mind to a more stable place.  
“Not amazing enough... but thank you.” Rane whispered, her eEllen wondered if that small connection was the only thing holding Rane together right now. “You know Rane... you were amazing out there.” Ellen changed the subject, an effort to pull Rane’s mind to a more stable place.

“Not amazing enough... but thank you.” Rane whispered, her eyes barely leaving the ground.

“Nonsense!” Ellen spat, her tone startling Rane. She cursed at herself for startling the Freelancer. “I’ve never seen anybody fly a javelin so well, all the while landing every shot. Me, well... I can barely even hit a target. It’s why I have the assault rifle.” Ellen joked, gently tugging on Rane’s hand to guide her to sit back. She complied.

“I can’t afford to miss a shot.” Rane replied with her voice a tad bolder than before but her hazel eyes were still cast to the ground.  
“What do you mean?” Ellen queried further, grasping at the opportunity to learn more about Freelancer Rane.

Rane’s gaze turned to the waterfalls above them, the endless sea of stars above glimmering in her hazel gaze. From what little she could see of her face, Ellen appreciated the rugged softness of the Freelancer’s face.  
“There was only a few of us to come out of the heart of Rage, even fewer to return to pilot a javelin. I was the only survivor of my squad...” Rane’s words trailed off, her eyes falling and her teeth gritting. Ellen squeezed her hand a little tighter, mechanical whirring filling the small breach of silence.

“I’m sorry...” Ellen whispered unsure of what words she could really say to the Freelancer.

“It’s not that, you see... my squad, we didn’t fight for the fort, and we didn’t fight for money or wealth. Instead... we fought for peace.” Rane explained, looking to Ellen.  
Her actions suddenly began to click in Ellen’s mind. “We wanted the freedom to fly above the clouds, to explore this world without the worry of a gun aimed at our back, we wanted to count the stars and grow old enough o watch our children’s children step into a javelin suit.” Rane explained, her grip becoming tighter and tighter on Ellen’s hand. A small whimper escaped the freelancer. “But I missed the shot, I could have ended that damned titan... but I missed.” Rane cursed.   
Rane swore again, her tense shoulders falling. “My whole squad died that day. Uncle Gerrix, Natasha, Marcus... they all died.” Rane breathed uneasy. “This world is a beautiful place, one we were all too caught up in fighting for that we never truly saw it.”  
Their conversation was abruptly brought to an end with the sound of a marksman’s rifle and several explosions, the very ground shaking as the charred corpse of the Escari plummeted into the river nearby.  
Freelancer Marshall floated down not a moment later, her storm javelin practically unmarked. Marshall was more of an outcast than a true freelancer, but in this moment Ellen didn’t care.   
A year had passed since that day.

Ellen had gained a newfound respect for Rane, a new-found understanding. One she’d hope to spread to other sentinels across the fort. 

“You need to stop and enjoy this world once in a while...” Ellen whispered, eyes cast over her Javelin suit nearby and the endless, stormy sky that cast itself for a thousand miles before them. 

Rane’s suit was nearby as well, the woman herself relaxing back into the grass next to her. Hazel eyes and messy blonde hair gleaming in the afternoon sun as they watched over the storm. Ellen was still mildly aware of her hand being clasped in Rane’s. 

“Couldn’t have said it better.”


End file.
